


A Fresh Start

by DreaDuQuesne



Category: Lovecraft Country (TV)
Genre: Christina can't help herself, F/F, F/M, Family Shenanigans, Flirting, Group Therapy, Inappropriate Humor, Leti is fed up, Poor Tic really needs this, Ruby thinks everything is completely fine, Teasing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:08:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26907874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreaDuQuesne/pseuds/DreaDuQuesne
Summary: Ruby, Christina, Tic and Leti head to therapy in an attempt to reconcile their relationships but it doesn't go as planned.
Relationships: Atticus "Tic" Freeman/Letitia "Leti" Lewis, Christina Braithwhite/Ruby Baptiste, Ruby Baptiste/Christina Braithwhite
Comments: 13
Kudos: 83





	A Fresh Start

Dr. Sharon Cole, a black woman and a highly decorated psychologist stood in her office. She checked herself out in the mirror and pushed a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. She took a deep breath before walking over to the door. Completely unaware of what she was getting herself into, there was a warm smile on her face as she opened it and greeted her first patients of the day.

"Ms. Baptiste, Ms. Braithwhite, Ms. Lewis and Mr. Freeman. It's very nice to meet you all, please. Come in and make yourselves comfortable."

Hand in hand, Christina and Ruby walked into the office. Christina allowed Ruby to sit down first before she sat next to her at the end of the couch. Christina.

Leti followed them into the room sitting next to her sister and Tic sat beside her.

Christina took Ruby's hands in hers and gave them a sweet kiss before sitting them in her lap. Ruby turned her head with a lustful gaze, one that forced her girlfriend's lips to curl into a smirk.

A disgusted look was on Leti's face when she looked at Tic. "They're starting already." She turned to Dr. Coles. "Do you have a spray bottle for these two?" she asked, gesturing to Ruby and Christina.

"You think waters gon melt her since she's a witch?" Tic said, doing his best to control his laughter.

Dr. Coles looked up from her notes. "I'm sorry, she's a what?"

"A witch," Tic stated as if it was obvious.

Dr. Coles eyed them curiously. Magic isn't real. She knew that without a doubt but Atticus still referred to Christina as a witch but given the world they lived in, it wasn't _completely_ unwarranted. She scribbled in her note pad before looking up at the group.

Dr. Coles motioned to the group. "So tell me, how are all of you related?"

"We're sisters," Leti and Ruby stated simultaneously.

"We're cousins," Tic and Christina followed then Tic cut his eye at her. "Distant cousins."

Dr. Coles ping-ponged her gaze between them. "You two are cousins?"

Leti gripped Tic's jaw in her hand. "I think they have a striking resemblance to each other, don't you think, Doc?"

Tic shook his head. "That's not funny, Leti."

"Yes it is," Leti said as she laughed in his face.

Christina cleared her throat. "Excuse those children," she said, shifting her line of sight from Tic and Leti to Dr. Coles. "My cousin and I come from a very long line of very powerful men."

"Care to elaborate?" Dr. Coles asked.

"Do I care to spend a therapy session talking about my father and his band of merry men?" Christina sat back in her seat. "Absolutely not."

"Babe," Ruby said, massaging Christina's thigh. "The point of therapy is to talk about those things."

"Duh," Leti drawled out.

Christina lightly bit her lip. Her eyes fluttering shut at Ruby's touch. "Someone else can start." 

"How about we talk about the fact that Christina tried to kill me," Tic spoke up. "Let's start with that."

"But did you die?" Christina simply asked.

Dr. Coles furrowed her brows. "Is this true?" she asked, her question directed at Christina.

"Her father shot and killed me," Leti said. "And she just stood there and watched."

"My intention wasn't for you to die," Christina reminded her.

Ruby turned to her sister. "You weren't even supposed to be there, Leti, on top of that Christina has saved your life on more than one occasion. A simple thank you would suffice."

"Nah, I'll stick with "Fuck Christina Braithwhite forever.""

"That's my job," Ruby replied and it awakened something so deep in Christina that made her cross her legs, an attempt to hide the fact that she squeezed her thighs together to relieve some tension.

Leti sighed. "Can we _please_ , for the love of all things holy, get a spray bottle in here? My sister's always two seconds away from riding Christina's pony."

"Her father also killed my uncle George," Tic said, a haunted look in his eyes. "It all started when my father, Montrose, went missing, which is also because of Christina. Me, Leti and my uncle George went to Lovecraft Country to find my father and bring him home then all of this weird shit started happening and we saw these monsters called shoggoths. I found out about some birthright that I had no idea about which included magic and a cult full of a bunch of racist and sexist white men. I found my father and we tried to escape and that's when her father killed Leti and shot uncle George. I made a deal with him to bring Leti back and heal my uncle George in exchange for him using me as a gateway to open a portal back to the garden of eden, you know, when mankind was immortal. Then all of a sudden shit starting getting more weirder."

Tic paused. "Are you following, Dr. Coles?"

"I am," Dr. Coles nodded.

Ruby pointed to the notebook. "You're not writing anything down."

"He's pouring his heart out here," Leti said, holding Tic's hand.

Dr. Coles scribbled in her notes. When she diagnosed them, she had to be sure to listen carefully because their stories would tell her all she needed to know. It seemed to her that Tic believed everything he spoke about. A cult of crazy white men was logical but monsters? Bringing people back from the dead? Magic? It was clear to her in that moment that Atticus was suffering from Antisocial Personality Disorder and considering he was a former soldier, he likely suffered from Shell Shock. However, she did believe that his uncle George was killed by Christina's father which of course must've been a traumatic event that caused his conditions to worsen.

"Ms. Braithwhite, is it true that you tried to kill Mr. Freeman?" she asked.

"I did but I intended on bringing him back because I promised Ruby I wouldn't hurt her sister and that would've hurt her." Christina placed a firm hand on Ruby's thigh. "The things I do for love."

Leti pinched the bridge of her nose. "Jesus fucking Christ."

"What were you attempting to achieve, Ms. Braithwhite?"

"Immortality."

"And you we were using Mr. Freeman as a means to achieve said immortality?"

"Yes," Christina stated matter-of-factly. "I wasn't allowed to join the Order of Ancient Dawn so mostly everything I did was to impress my father."

"And when you realized how limiting that was-"

"I decided to take matters into my own hands and I planned om achieving every goal I set forth."

Dr. Coles eyed her carefully. "No matter the cost?"

"Exactly," Christina answered honestly.

"She even turned herself into a man and slept with my sister without her knowing who she really was," Leti said as she motioned to the doctor. "So write that down too."

"Ms. Baptiste, is that true?"

"Yes," Ruby replied, "but in her defense, she did come clean and tell me the whole truth which I greatly appreciated. We're in a much better place now."

"Oh please, Ruby. You only saying that cause she gave you some wicked potion that turned you into a white woman."

Dr. Coles scribbled down that Christina felt a sense of entitlement because of what was deprived of her by this Order of Ancient Dawn and she had no problem using people for her own personal gain. Those were signs of someone with a Personality Disorder but that was a serious and complicated diagnosis to slap on someone without careful consideration so it was just a footnote for now.

"A diagnosis so soon," Christina said, her signature smirk on her face. "I expected better from a woman of your caliber, Dr. Coles. I haven't even told you about how I planned out the murder of my father and his minions."

"You did so because you were tired of following their rules, correct?" Christina glared at her. "You wanted to create your own, which leads me to you Ms. Baptiste."

"Oh no, there's nothing wrong with me," Ruby laughed. "I'm just here to support my family."

"Your sister says you took a potion to become white?"

"Yes, Dr. Coles. I got the job I wanted, a job I was qualified for but wouldn't have gotten otherwise but if you're assuming I want to _be_ white-"

"No, I don't assume that. From what I gather, you wish to be respected for your talents but of course that's almost impossible in today's world, all things considered." Dr. Coles paused. "Are you still working at this job?"

"No, ma'am." Ruby searched her own thoughts. "This is all confidential right?"

"Yes, unless I feel like you are a danger to yourself or others."

Christina raised en eyebrow. "What if I said I had two dead bodies in my basement?"

"Hypothetically speaking?" Dr. Coles asked.

"No... I actually have two dead bodies in my basement."

"Umm... Ms. Braithwhite-"

"Oh don't worry, I didn't kill them. They were already dead. Let's just say they're collector's items."

Leti chuckled. "Yeah, she's definitely going to the nut house."

"How could she do such a thing when she doesn't even believe magic is real?" Christina informed her. "She's reading between the lines of what she thinks are stories we've made up."

"How the hell do you know that?" Ruby asked.

"She's too calm." Christina closed her eyes, chanting words in the language of Adam. When she finished, the notepad flew into her hands.

Dr. Coles' eyes widened. "What. The fuck. Just happened?"

"Antisocial Personality Disorder and Shell Shock," Christina read aloud as Ruby leaned in. "Well, Shell Shock is accurate."

"Let me see that," Tic said. Christina passed it to Ruby who passed it to Leti who passed it to Tic. He turned to Dr. Coles who's brows were furrowed in confusion. "You're diagnosing me with ASPD because you believe im lying, which I'm not."

"I- no. You've made up stories as a coping mechanism to deal with your trauma. Magic isn't real. It can't be real. Science is real, not magic."

Ruby turned to Christina. "I've learned they are one in the same," she said.

"You've learned other things," Christina responded. She leaned in, placing a soft kiss on Ruby's lips.

"Nope. I'm not having it. Not today." Leti stood up and motioned for Ruby to take her spot. "You sit there."

Ruby chuckled as she moved to sit next to Tic while Leti sat next to Christina. "This is how the sessions are gonna go from now on."

"If there is more sessions," Tic said, pointing to Dr. Coles.

Christina spoke once more in the language of Adam. A second later, butterflies flew around the room.

Dr. Coles stood up. "What the fuck is that?"

"Magic," Christina proudly stated.

"Is this some kind of sick trick? I have been nothing short of professional and understanding and I do not like the fact that none of you are taking this session seriously."

The butterflies disappeared.

"I don't want to see any of you in my office again," Dr. Coles said, shaking her head.

Christina stood up. Ruby stood as well, holding her lover back. "Babe, don't. Let's just go."

Christina turned to Ruby. "We're paying top dollar for her, the least she could do is believe in the truth that is right in front of her."

"No, we're paying for y'all googly eyes at each other every five minutes and quite frankly I'm tired of it."

"Whatever Leti," Ruby said waving her off. "You're just jealous cause Tic don't know how to hit it right."

Leti rolled her eyes. "As if she devil does."

"Believe me when I say not only does she hit it right, she hits it hard and fast and even as William when I'm feeling the need for a little razzle dazzle."

Christina raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow, smiling proudly over Ruby's shoulders.

Tic took a deep breath. "Ummm, I think we can all agree that this was a disaster and it should never happen again."

"You are all batshit crazy," Dr. Coles all but yelled. "Please leave my office."

Christina stepped up to the doctor, once more speaking the language of Adam.

"What are you doing?" Leti asked.

"You will remember nothing that you learned here today because we had to cancel our session but next week will be a fresh start for all of us."

"A fresh start," Dr. Coles nodded. "For all of us."

"It's a compulsion spell," Tic answered. "You can force anybody to do anything with it."

"Well shit, tell her to bring a water bottle next time too," Leti told Christina.

"Why not just find a new therapist?" Ruby said as she walked out of the office.

Christina turned on her heel and followed close behind. "If I'm being honest, I never wanted to come here in the first place. I'm completely in favor of not dealing with my problems and letting them fester."

"Like that isn't already your entire personality," Leti chimed in with an eye roll as they all left the office. She turned to Tic. "I just realized something."

"What?" he asked.

Leti pouted. "I didn't get a false diagnosis."

Ruby furrowed her brows. "Why would you even want one?"

"It was probably for the best," Christina said. "She's got more issues than all of us combined."

Leti paused, her mouth opened as if to protest but she closes it without a peep.

Tic locked their arms. "Pay her no mind, Leti. We both know she's got more issues than the entire population of the Southside."

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave comments cause I would love to know y'alls opinions!
> 
> For requests, prompts and additional commentary, message me on Tumblr at dreaduquesne and twitter at whoreofivy.


End file.
